Sorting-machine stop device



' March 4, 1924. 1,485,861

W. W. LASKER scSRTING MACHINE STOPDEVICE Original Fil ed June 29 1922 2 Sheets-Sfieet 1 yfiwf A ORNEYS Marcia 4, 1924,

LASKER SORTING MAGHIINE STOP DEVICE Qriginal Filed June 29 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 445% w- M ATTOR /EYS Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

UNITED STATES [PATENT- oFi-i'cs.,

WILLIAM W. LASKEB. OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOBI, BY- MESNE ASSIGN:

MENT S, TO POWERS ACCOUNTING MACHINE CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. 1.,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

SORTING-MACHINE STOP DEVICE.

Application filed June 29, 1922, Serial No. 571,745. Renewed my 26, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

-Be it known that 1, WILLIAM \V. LABKER, a citizen of the United States, residin in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and tate of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sorting-Machine Stop Devices, of which the following is a specification. I

- My present invention relates to stop devices for machines for sorting or classifying perforated cards such, for example, as are peed in automatic calculatin and adding machines, and more particular y to machines of the general character or type disclosed 1 inLetters Patent No. 1,315,370, dated September 9, 1919. I For the purpose of illustrationl have shown an embodiment of my invention as it would be applied to the machine described D'and illustrated in a plication Serial No.

544,417, filed by me arch 17 1922. M present invention will best be understo from theiollowing description and the appended-drawings, in which, Figure 1 is-a partial sectional elevation of the machine shown" in .said copending application with "is in this position. If the arm 154 be rotated one embodiment of-my invention appliedv thereto; Fig. 2 is a section on the:-1ine=22 of Fig.].; Fig. 3 is a view"through the .3 it hontrolling boxwith the-cover removed; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of some 7 of'the parts Shownin Fig. 3',' and'F1'g 5 is a modificatioml-fl 1 "arts in the several views'.

Referring, now, to the drawings, the matie rods'2; These plates support, in the '-ustratedembodiment,- the feeding mechanism, analyzing mechanism and'associated l parts. g I

For an understanding of my present in- ,ve1ition, itwill, be unnecessary to redescribe thev machine, as it is fully described in the 4'5'said:'copending application, but it-will be suflicicnt here to note that the cards are carried in, a hopper 3.' From thishopper- -they are moved one at a time by a picker 1? blade 14 on a block ,4, which carries the -,cards one at a time to an adjustable opening through a pair of rollers 16,- 18, connected, respectively, todriving shafts 17, I 19. "Bythese rollers the cards are passed into the analyzing mechanism, some parts guide member 124 from the full line to the dotted line positionshown the second 4 per.-'- In other wor'gls, the .hoppersare ar- Like reference characters refer'to like predetermined hopper in accordance wi chineis carried on sidepl'ates 1, connected driving shaft 128 and carrying a plurality ing a cam surface 143 adapted to cooperate having a deflecting finger 125 on the lower part thereof. On the shaft 117 there. may be one or more rollers 1 16 turning-loosely thereon, and cooperating with these rollers are rollers 115 on shafts 113, these latter shafts being driven from the machine. '2'

On an outer end of each of the shafts 117 is an operating arm 154, this arm, as shown best in Fig; 1, constituting a 'lever,"-' the rotation of winchwill serve to move the In -normhl operation, 'the guides 124 in-full'line position, so that? card may pass over a hopper when the; guide member 124 so over one hopper,-however, the guide 'mem-- her will be thrown to the dotted line i 1:

tion shown over-the second hopper in. ig.

by the-deflector 125 and pass into that -h0pranged with guide andfdeflectingdevices' so that acard may be 'drop'ped intoa'ny t the characteristics of the cardg is' fully as-- plained in the said copending"application. In Fig. 2 I have reproduced a portion of this selecting mechanism which determines the hopper into which a given card is to be dropped, such mechanism consistin of a timingdisc'l iO rotatingwith the o'fcams 142 pivotedat'141, and each her;

with a pin 160 which is movedinto cooperating. position by. mechanism in the analyiing heads 48, as fully explained in the said copending application. When-a. given cam 143 is contactedby the pin 160, the outer 105 end of the cam 142 is thrown outward and is held in that position by means of springs 152 which pull the cam Slide? 149, 150, so

V guidedby a rod 202 fastened to the plate 200 and passing through holes in the mem-- I have shown in hers 203 and.204, so that the weight of the cards as they-accumulate will gradually dc pre s the plate 200 by the collapsing of the spring 201. For any given quantity of cards, therefore, the position of the plate 200 will be' determined by the number of cards which have been dropped into the hopper.

In the machine in connection with. which invention, the distribution of the cards in several hoppers may be, however,'regulated, so that onehopper ,may fill up very quickly, so that. close attention on the'part of the operatorimder snch oir-' cumstances may be required. to revent injury to the machine-or to the car s. By my invention I provide means by which the mai- ;starting and stopping mechanism for'the machine. A preferred'formof switch is I a closed position' by a spring and held in that pqsltion against the action of another chine will be stopped when any hopper shall have received a predetermined number of cards, or, .whatis the same thing, has been .filled to a predetermined point.v In the pres-- ent embodiment of my machine, I utilize the weight of such a pile of cards to determine when themachine shall be stopped, but it is obvious that I could'use the height of the pile as a matterof' distance, instead of weight, if desired.

Extending parallel with the receiving hoppers 112 is a rock shaft 205 supported in brackets 206 fastened to tie rods 207 extending longitudinally of the machine. On the shaft 205 there is a lever 208 having an upwardly projecting finger 209 arranged to contact with the p to 200 as the latter is pushed down by the weight of the cards resting on it. There will be one' of these levers 208 for each of the hoppers, so thatthe depression of any *lever will rock the shaft .205 clockwise in Fig. 2. v A

. In the specific embodiment of my invention 'I.ha've used,for. purposes of illustration,' 'a-switch which may form part-of the shown in Fig. 3, and as being a two-pole switch in' which the switch arm is thrown to spring for throwing the switch to its open position. 165. .is-a boa: carried by the frame-work and provided with two binding posts or contacts 166 166 forming part of the circuit which includes the driving motor for the machine not shown) and a source of eurrentfor sai motor -(also not shown).

The two, posts or contacts 166,166 are engaged by a switcharm 167 pivoted at 3.68,

when the motor is to be started, and disen 'gaged from the posts or contacts when the motor is to be stopped. The dotted lines in Fig. 3 indicate the positions of the several parts of the switch when it is'in open osition and the fulllines the positions 0 the parts when the switch is in closed osition. The switch 'arm 167 is moved rom it's dotted line position to its full line position by the depression of a button 169, the

rod of which is connected to a lever 170,

which is pivoted at 168. The lever 170 is connected with the switch arm 167 by a spring 17 0", which when it is put under ten- S1011 by the movement of the lever 170,;pulls the switch arm 167 towards its full line position. The parts are so arrangedthat the switch arm 167 can only be moved by the I spring .170 to its closed position by a on a trigger lever 173 pivoted 216173, the

pawl 187 eing held in engagement with the shoulder (until released) by means of a spring 189 which 'is connected with the pawl 187 and the switch arm. When this engagement occurs, the switch arm 167 has not ridged the contacts 166, 166. A continued depression of the button 169 causes an arm 167 carried by the switch arm 167 to err gage the arm 187 of the pawl 187 to rock the pawl on its pivot 18? out of engagement with the shoulder 188. thereby permitting the spring 170 to finally move the switch arm 167 to its closed position across the posts or contacts 166, 166. In order to hold the switch arm in its closed position against the action of the spring 174, which is for the purpose of throwing the switch arm 167 to its open position (dotted line position), and-which is put under tension upon the depression of button 169, the lever 170 is provided with adetent 171' which engages a notch 171 'in the lever 173, this engagement being'insurcd through the action ofspring 189.

The locking le ver 173 hasan 'arm. 186 projecting therefrom through'the .wall of the casing 165, and extending. above the outer 'en d-.of the arm 186- is the arm 185 of a lever 183 .pivoted at 184 and havingits opposite end extending through a slot formed between a projection 210 and, the. face of a fork 211 connected to a le'rer 212 fastened tothe shaft 205; A slot may be provided -l. etwccn the lever 212 and the accuser lines in Figs. 3 amid, the machine inequalities in twill be in opieration and cards will be passing from t e hopper 3 through the analyzing mechanism and into the receiving hoppers.' As they-accumulate in the hoppers 112, the plates 200 will be gradually depressed by the added weight, and when any one of the plates hasreached a predetermined position, such as is shown in dotted lines in the secondhopper in Fig. 1, the

end 209 of the lever 208 will be contacted to rotate the shaft 205, which will raise the fork 211 and rotate the lever 183 to cause its end 185 to depress the end of the p rfijection 186.011 the locking lever 173. 's will throw the lever 173 to the left of Fig. 3 and take its notch 171? away from the end of the detentlll to permit the spring-174 to move the switch arm 167 through contact of the pin 170 with the switch arm 167 into the open or dotted line position of Fig. 3 to bring the machine to a stop. The cards can be then removed from the filled hopper and the machine startedagain, If desired the machine may be stop d manually by rocking the lever 173 to t e left on its pivot 173. in Fig. 5 I have shown a modification oi the lever 208,1 which the predetermined oint at which the machine shall be stopped canberegulated. To this end I substitute for the lever 208, shown in Fig. 2, a lever 213 having at its outer end a rod 214 held adjustable by a screw 215. It will be obvious that when the rod 214 is shifted to the end of the lever 213, the point to which the plate 200 must fall before rotating the shaft 205 to stop the machine may,

in turn, be regulated.

It is obvious that m invention may be widely varied in its em odiments, and that the arrangement which I have shown is merely illustrative. v

I claim:

1.; In an apparatus of the class described, a card-receiving hopper, power actuated means to forward cards one at a time to the receiving hopper, and means to stop the operation of said power actuated means when the number of cards in the receiving hopper has reached a predetermined number. 65'

2. In an apparatus ofthe class described, a card-receiving hopper, power actuated means to forward cards oneat a time to the receiving hopper,-means to stop the operation of said power actuated means when the number of cards in the receiving hop er has reached a predetermined number, an means whereby the number of cards required to operate said stopping means may be varied.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a plurality of card-receiving hoppers, power actuated means to forward cards one at a I time to the receiving hoppers and to distrib ute the cards in said reccivin hoppers in accordance with the individua characteristics of the cards, and means to stop the op eration of said power actuated means when the number of cards in any one of the receiv ing hoppers has reached a predetermined numben p y 4. In an apparatus of the class described, a plurality of card-receiving hoppers, power actuated means to forward cards one at atime to the receiving hoppers and to distribute the cards in said receiving hoppers in accordance with the individual characteristics of the cards, means to stop the operation oil said power actuated means when the run ber of cards in any one of the receiving hop pers has reached. a predetermined number, and means whereby the number of cards to ppeiate saidstopping means may be reguate s 5. In an apparatus of the class described, a card-receiving hopper comprising a receptacle having a vertically movable bottom, power actuated means to forward cards one at a time towards and into saidhopper to vbe supported on said bottom, said bottom being arranged to be depressed by the weight of the cards upon it, and means to suspend the operation of said power actuated means when the bottom has been depressed to a predetermined point.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a card-receiving hopper comprising a recap tacle having a vertically movable bottom, power actuated means to forward cards one at a time towards and into said hopper to be supported on said bottom, said bottom bein arranged to be depressed by the wei ht or the cards upon it, means to suspend t e op eration of said power actuated means when the bottom has been depressed to a predetermined point, and means whereby the stop operating position of the bottom may be regulated.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, a plurality of card-receiving hoppers, each. comprising a receptacle having a vertically movable bottom, power actuated means to forward cards one at a time towards and into said hoppers and to distribute the cards in said receiving hoppers in accordance with the individual characteristics of the cards, each of said bottoms being arranged to be depressed by the weight of the cards upon it, and means to stop the operation of said power actuated means when the bottom or any one of said hoppers has been depressed forward cards one at a time towards and into its lid

&

said hoppers and to distribute the cards in said receiving hoppeis in accordance with the individual characteristics of the cards, each of said bottoms being arranged to be 5 depressed by the weight of the cards upon it, means to stop the operation of said power actuated means when the bottom of any one of said hoppers has been depressed to a pre determined point, and means whereby the 10 stopping position of each bottom may be regulated.

9. In an apparatus of the class described,

essee:

a card receiving hopper having a movable bottom; power actuated means to forward cards, one at a time, towards and. into said hopper to he supported on said bottom which is moved as the cards are successively put upon it; means for starting and stopping the said power actuated means including a switch; and means operated by the movement of said bottom to actuate the switch to stop the power actuated means when the bottom has moved to a predetermined point \VILLIAM Vt. LASKER. 

